Caps are now available to purchase. Thank you all, and I hope that you like them!

Edit: Had an issue with the shipping price calculations, made an error when setting up the site. Bonehead mistake. Should be fixed now and refunded the couple folks who over-payed the shipping cost.

Hi guys. So after lots of reading, researching and admiring others work here, I've decided to try to make my own keycaps. I really loved Binge and Nubbinator's threads (and would like to thank them for taking the time to create them) as they detailed their efforts from starting off to where they are now, I thought I might do the same- if people are actually interested. If all goes well, I'd be more than happy to also start making these for you guys here on the boards. Right now, I don't know if that means selling them, or just making them for people who appreciate them. This is fun for me, and I enjoy the craft of the entire process.

That all being said, I'd be more than happy to elaborate further on some of my experiments, what tools I'm using, etc, and would be thrilled to collaborate with other cap makers on here- PM me and we can chat.Anyway, here you guys go:Updates to follow, and I'd love to hear opinions/advice!

Looks neat, but I can't really tell how it's supposed to fit on a switch, it doesn't seem too "keycap-y". Did you sculpt it on a cap?

Yeah, that's sculpted onto the cap. Unfortunately, and after thinking about it for a little while, I realized I've badly designed the whole thing, the "teeth" at the bottom would interfere with the row of keys under it if it's on a compact keyboard. So, I had to scale things down a bit and make a new one. This one, fortunately bottoms out without touching any other keys on the board. It's hard to photograph without the shadows by the mouth of the key making it look weird, I'll try tomorrow when the sun is out.

Ok! First mold is made. I'm really taking this step by step in between work days, so slow and steady I guess. Overall I think the mold making process was a success, the piece didnt break and it looks like I got great detail on the mold. I still need to choose a location to pour from and figure out if I'm going to need to add any sprues, trying not to jump the gun on that until I really understand the way the mold will fill. Today I'll be ordering my resins and attempting my first cast once they get here.Also, tonight I'll be making a mold for this little guy who my girlfriend has nicknamed "Mister"- which I can't seem to get to display vertically here, I have no idea why, my apologies.

Ok! First mold is made. I'm really taking this step by step in between work days, so slow and steady I guess. Overall I think the mold making process was a success, the piece didnt break and it looks like I got great detail on the mold. I still need to choose a location to pour from and figure out if I'm going to need to add any sprues, trying not to jump the gun on that until I really understand the way the mold will fill. Today I'll be ordering my resins and attempting my first cast once they get here. (Attachment Link) Also, tonight I'll be making a mold for this little guy who my girlfriend has nicknamed "Mister" (Attachment Link)

First attempts are finished. I'm going to deem it a success, despite some imperfections in the cast. I can't seem to get a bubble out of the stem, so they work, but aren't stable enough on the switch. Anyway:

Ok! First mold is made. I'm really taking this step by step in between work days, so slow and steady I guess. Overall I think the mold making process was a success, the piece didnt break and it looks like I got great detail on the mold. I still need to choose a location to pour from and figure out if I'm going to need to add any sprues, trying not to jump the gun on that until I really understand the way the mold will fill. Today I'll be ordering my resins and attempting my first cast once they get here. (Attachment Link) Also, tonight I'll be making a mold for this little guy who my girlfriend has nicknamed "Mister"- which I can't seem to get to display vertically here, I have no idea why, my apologies. (Attachment Link)

Tonight I toyed around with 2 layer molds, came out pretty well despite a couple of flaws.The resin I'm using seems to allow light to pass through it when it's back lit, but only when it hasn't been pigmented (it cures white). I thought I might try to "mask" these two keys to see if I could get ONLY the eyes of them to pass light through. In short, this seems like proof of theory with these two designs that this would indeed work:

Hopefully this week I can start pouring some translucent & ice resins and see where the potential behind this goes. I'm also thinking it's about time I looked around for some new pigments- these all seem to give me pastel toned colors once cured.

First translucents are finished. More or less they went ok, I think pretty well for no vacuum chamber for degassing, definitely not perfect though. Anyway, here's a shot before they were cleaned up:I think I might put translucents on hold for a little while, maybe until I make multiple molds for single designs or figure out a decent method of degassing. Also been working on some new designs, hopefully will have some of those to show off to you guys soon.

Hi guys. So after lots of reading, researching and admiring others work here, I've decided to try to make my own keycaps. I really loved Binge and Nubbinator's threads (and would like to thank them for taking the time to create them) as they detailed their efforts from starting off to where they are now, I thought I might do the same- if people are actually interested. If all goes well, I'd be more than happy to also start making these for you guys here on the boards. Right now, I don't know if that means selling them, or just making them for people who appreciate them. Anyway, here you guys go:Updates to follow, and I'd love to hear opinions/advice!

Hey man, thanks! Glad you like him. He might be getting a redesign soon, cleaner edges, thicker cap walls, etc etc- in time, but in the works.I just bought my vac pot and pump, so translucents aren't far off now, super stoked to get some nice, bubble free casts.Been playing with some new experiments lately with pigmentations and things, here you go:

Thank you all for the positive words! Very exciting to hear that you guys like them. Just a quick update with one of my more recent casts that I'm particularly happy with:For some reason, it's very glossy- I have the suspicion that I may have screwed up my ratio a tiny bit on this one, it was also cast without any added catalyst, which might also have something to do with it. Because of the gloss it's hard to tell in the photo, but it's translucent green with vibrant orange flecks near the surface. I wouldn't say I'm thrilled with the quality of the actual cast, but I really like the effect I got on it.

Last but not least, I made my first go at a cast using a pressure pot. I need a solid day to really experiment with this here, I'm still unsure where in the process I should be degassing, I tried degassing once the mold was filled and closed and it basically just went to complete hell- so some experimentation is in order. Any advice here from the more experienced casters would be tremendously appreciated.Now that I have the degassing tools up and running though, I hope I'll have some really cool stuff to show you all very soon, and probably a few caps to give out too.

if you are doing pour casting with two part molds you want to degas your urethane before you pour. After pouring you can put the mold back into the vac chamber but you really want to have a more rigid mold, large sprues, and a huge reservoir space.

The rule is generally that mixed urethane and silicone can hold up to 6x its volume with oxygen if the O2 and silicone/urethane were compared in a vacuum. At normal pressure the air mixed into the urethane/silicone is not the same volume as in a vacuum. Make sure your mixing cup is full 1/6 with your urethane/silicone mixture and then pull vacuum. You'll see the mixture quickly bubble up and then settle back down again. Once it settles it is ready to pour. Pouring can introduce air back into the mold which is why you would vacuum it again, but remember the mold will need to be semi-rigid and held shut by some sort of restraint. You will also need sprues of decent size. A small hole can collapse in a vacuum as air is removed from the tank, and that will stop the process of degasing entirely. It will also cause a violent reaction inside the mold as the air moves about to escape.

If this sounds like a lot of effort that is because it really is hard to cast and then vacuum. This method is used in the automotive industry but they have $50,000 worth machines and materials at the low end to make sure it works flawlessly.

Most model makers and myself included use pressure to cast and vacuum degasing prior to pouring. This does not mean you can't refine the method, and vacuum results are technically the most pure type of cast free of even microscopic voids. Food for thought.

Logged

60% keyboards, 100% of the time.

"What the hell Jimmy?! It was ruined before you even put it up there with your decrepit fingers."

Hey man, thanks! Glad you like him. He might be getting a redesign soon, cleaner edges, thicker cap walls, etc etc- in time, but in the works.I just bought my vac pot and pump, so translucents aren't far off now, super stoked to get some nice, bubble free casts.Been playing with some new experiments lately with pigmentations and things, here you go: (Attachment Link)

First translucents are finished. More or less they went ok, I think pretty well for no vacuum chamber for degassing, definitely not perfect though. Anyway, here's a shot before they were cleaned up: (Attachment Link) I think I might put translucents on hold for a little while, maybe until I make multiple molds for single designs or figure out a decent method of degassing. Also been working on some new designs, hopefully will have some of those to show off to you guys soon.

Tonight I toyed around with 2 layer molds, came out pretty well despite a couple of flaws.The resin I'm using seems to allow light to pass through it when it's back lit, but only when it hasn't been pigmented (it cures white). I thought I might try to "mask" these two keys to see if I could get ONLY the eyes of them to pass light through. In short, this seems like proof of theory with these two designs that this would indeed work: (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Hopefully this week I can start pouring some translucent & ice resins and see where the potential behind this goes. I'm also thinking it's about time I looked around for some new pigments- these all seem to give me pastel toned colors once cured.

Great work on the translucents dude! i have been having trouble with them do to my house not having heat and being stuck at a constant 50 degrees. Waiting on a heating plate to be delivered which im hoping will solve this. Keep it up man!

Great work on the translucents dude! i have been having trouble with them do to my house not having heat and being stuck at a constant 50 degrees. Waiting on a heating plate to be delivered which im hoping will solve this. Keep it up man!

Sorry if this is on/off topic--I used an industrial heated boot-mat with a temperature control sensor that folks use for their greenhouses. It works perfectly.

I'll have to look into the warming mat, I've been warming my molds on the top of the radiator in the room I'm doing this in. The last few though haven't been warmed at all before being poured into.Anyway, I'm getting the hang of the degassing process, with pretty good results, except the green, that was my first degassing attempt:

Brand new design is almost finished, will have a first cast to show hopefully by the end of tomorrow!

I'll have to look into the warming mat, I've been warming my molds on the top of the radiator in the room I'm doing this in. The last few though haven't been warmed at all before being poured into.Anyway, I'm getting the hang of the degassing process, with pretty good results, except the green, that was my first degassing attempt: (Attachment Link)

Brand new design is almost finished, will have a first cast to show hopefully by the end of tomorrow!

Honestly, I think the green one with all the gas looks really cool. It kind of looks like a bubbling drink. Though for the most part full degassed keys would look better, I wouldn't mind owning something like that green one.

I'll have to look into the warming mat, I've been warming my molds on the top of the radiator in the room I'm doing this in. The last few though haven't been warmed at all before being poured into.Anyway, I'm getting the hang of the degassing process, with pretty good results, except the green, that was my first degassing attempt: (Attachment Link)

Brand new design is almost finished, will have a first cast to show hopefully by the end of tomorrow!

Honestly, I think the green one with all the gas looks really cool. It kind of looks like a bubbling drink. Though for the most part full degassed keys would look better, I wouldn't mind owning something like that green one.

Hell, I know what I did wrong (right?) to get that effect, I can do it again- To be clear, the front of the cap is completely bubble free, but the walls look "fizzy". Maybe I call it lime fizz, who knows?

I'll have to look into the warming mat, I've been warming my molds on the top of the radiator in the room I'm doing this in. The last few though haven't been warmed at all before being poured into.Anyway, I'm getting the hang of the degassing process, with pretty good results, except the green, that was my first degassing attempt: (Attachment Link)

Brand new design is almost finished, will have a first cast to show hopefully by the end of tomorrow!

Honestly, I think the green one with all the gas looks really cool. It kind of looks like a bubbling drink. Though for the most part full degassed keys would look better, I wouldn't mind owning something like that green one.

Hell, I know what I did wrong (right?) to get that effect, I can do it again- To be clear, the front of the cap is completely bubble free, but the walls look "fizzy". Maybe I call it lime fizz, who knows?

It qould be a nice different style of cap to have. Do you have any time frame for the release of these keys. I can't help but love that mister cap.Seeing you making these keys has inspiered me to work on the custom case and PCB I've been working on on paper.

Great work on the translucents dude! i have been having trouble with them do to my house not having heat and being stuck at a constant 50 degrees. Waiting on a heating plate to be delivered which im hoping will solve this. Keep it up man!

Sorry if this is on/off topic--I used an industrial heated boot-mat with a temperature control sensor that folks use for their greenhouses. It works perfectly.

thanks for that link Binge, im going to order one tonight. I started sticking trans caps directly into a toaster oven after curing in the pressure pot, this has been working magically for now. Looks like the boot mat method is way better though, because it will save me an extra step and time

you can put the temperature gauge directly onto your pot to make sure that it keeps a more constant temperature while it is pressurized. generally things on the mat may get warmer or colder, but the pot temp is most important.

Logged

60% keyboards, 100% of the time.

"What the hell Jimmy?! It was ruined before you even put it up there with your decrepit fingers."

Last night was a pretty exciting day of experimentation. I've been working on a new design, and just done my first cast of version 1. The design is definitely going to be redone once I really make my mind up about some design choices but I really wanted to see how the first sculpt would cast out. I also got some new materials to cast with, which were originally planned to be used specifically with this design.The concept was a robot like the old 70's robots that had those glass tanks which contained their brains on their heads. It kind of looks like some of the enemies from the Mega Man games, now that I think about it though. This was my first attempt floating these little pearls inside of the cast, I didn't wait long enough for my resin to set so they didn't stay suspended, and kinda went all over the place. I think it's cool, and has potential, but I'll be refining this idea as I go on. While I was at it, I went ahead and tried these out on my other designs.Again, I can see some potential for some really cool effects, once I get the whole process figured out and can keep these things from just settling to the bottom of the mold, without having to constantly rotate until the resin cures.I have these things in lots of different colors, so I'm pretty stoked to keep playing around with these.You can also see in the background that I've been keeping busy making more of these... "Aurora Borealis" pigmented keys.

Last, I have just a new color. This one I really, really like. The top layer is transparent, below it is a very deep green olive oil type of color, but when the light hits it at certain angles, you can see this really deep beautiful rose red color shine out from inside of it. I can't seem to capture that effect with my lackluster phone camera, so I have a photographer friend who's going to give it a shot today with her DSLR. I'm not sure if I could make more of these with the same results, I'm going to try, but these might be a lucky anomaly.

That's all for now then, two new designs are getting molds tonight, so hopefully I'll have something new to show in a day or two. In the meantime, I'm going to keep messing with these little pearls.

I like the new cap design, but I'm not sure how I feel about the little marbles in the caps. Maybe if they were more evenly dispersed then I would like it more. Either way don't stop tinkering with them!

I like the new cap design, but I'm not sure how I feel about the little marbles in the caps. Maybe if they were more evenly dispersed then I would like it more. Either way don't stop tinkering with them!

I agree, they make the caps look a bit chaotic, but I'm hoping I can find a process to make them disperse a little more evenly. These casts were also done transparent with the darkest pearls I had just so I could really see how they behave and disperse in the mold. I think I'll try casting a blue cap with blue pearls today, maybe a lower contrast of colors will look nicer.

I like the new cap design, but I'm not sure how I feel about the little marbles in the caps. Maybe if they were more evenly dispersed then I would like it more. Either way don't stop tinkering with them!

I agree, they make the caps look a bit chaotic, but I'm hoping I can find a process to make them disperse a little more evenly. These casts were also done transparent with the darkest pearls I had just so I could really see how they behave and disperse in the mold. I think I'll try casting a blue cap with blue pearls today, maybe a lower contrast of colors will look nicer.

That sounds more up my ally. I think a darker grey-ish transparent colour with bright vibrant beads (like red or pinks) could look quite nice too.

I like the new cap design, but I'm not sure how I feel about the little marbles in the caps. Maybe if they were more evenly dispersed then I would like it more. Either way don't stop tinkering with them!

I agree, they make the caps look a bit chaotic, but I'm hoping I can find a process to make them disperse a little more evenly. These casts were also done transparent with the darkest pearls I had just so I could really see how they behave and disperse in the mold. I think I'll try casting a blue cap with blue pearls today, maybe a lower contrast of colors will look nicer.

Dodgy,

your experiment yielded some results which I learned a different way by doing a multi-color solid key. One thing you can do with your small bead suspension is to drop them in at more of a wide time interval. The more time you spend in between dropping beads the more spaced out they will be in the end mold. As the mixture becomes more viscous the more shallow depths the beads will fall.

I really like your use of larger objects in molds. I was tempted to suspend holograms in translucent topped caps, but it would cost far too much money to invest in something like that

Logged

60% keyboards, 100% of the time.

"What the hell Jimmy?! It was ruined before you even put it up there with your decrepit fingers."

"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

I like the new cap design, but I'm not sure how I feel about the little marbles in the caps. Maybe if they were more evenly dispersed then I would like it more. Either way don't stop tinkering with them!

I agree, they make the caps look a bit chaotic, but I'm hoping I can find a process to make them disperse a little more evenly. These casts were also done transparent with the darkest pearls I had just so I could really see how they behave and disperse in the mold. I think I'll try casting a blue cap with blue pearls today, maybe a lower contrast of colors will look nicer.

Dodgy,

your experiment yielded some results which I learned a different way by doing a multi-color solid key. One thing you can do with your small bead suspension is to drop them in at more of a wide time interval. The more time you spend in between dropping beads the more spaced out they will be in the end mold. As the mixture becomes more viscous the more shallow depths the beads will fall.

I really like your use of larger objects in molds. I was tempted to suspend holograms in translucent topped caps, but it would cost far too much money to invest in something like that

Is it theoretically possible to program a backlit keyboard to blink at a frequency that would create a 3D hologram using the cap as a lens? I ask this knowing absolutely nothing about the science behind holograms and 3D projection.

I like the new cap design, but I'm not sure how I feel about the little marbles in the caps. Maybe if they were more evenly dispersed then I would like it more. Either way don't stop tinkering with them!

I agree, they make the caps look a bit chaotic, but I'm hoping I can find a process to make them disperse a little more evenly. These casts were also done transparent with the darkest pearls I had just so I could really see how they behave and disperse in the mold. I think I'll try casting a blue cap with blue pearls today, maybe a lower contrast of colors will look nicer.

Dodgy,

your experiment yielded some results which I learned a different way by doing a multi-color solid key. One thing you can do with your small bead suspension is to drop them in at more of a wide time interval. The more time you spend in between dropping beads the more spaced out they will be in the end mold. As the mixture becomes more viscous the more shallow depths the beads will fall.

I really like your use of larger objects in molds. I was tempted to suspend holograms in translucent topped caps, but it would cost far too much money to invest in something like that

Is it theoretically possible to program a backlit keyboard to blink at a frequency that would create a 3D hologram using the cap as a lens? I ask this knowing absolutely nothing about the science behind holograms and 3D projection.

Actually it would just take any light source passing through the holographic film. The sh!tty part is that holographic film and mass produced images cost a small fortune.

Logged

60% keyboards, 100% of the time.

"What the hell Jimmy?! It was ruined before you even put it up there with your decrepit fingers."